TACLOBAN CITY, Oct. 7 -- The Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) has issued an urgent advisory informing the public and healthcare facilities in the region that it has exceeded its authorized bed capacity.

As of Oct. 5, the region's only hospital designed to treat level 3 cases has a 125 percent occupancy in hospital beds. The hospital's emergency room (ER), meanwhile, is operating at 193-percent occupancy.

The ER's bed capacity is only 60, but the hospital said it has been treating 120 to 130 patients at any given time.

"In light of this situation, EVMC advises that only level 3 cases -- those requiring urgent, life-saving interventions that cannot be adequately managed at local healthcare facilities -- should be referred to the hos...